[Federal Register: May 9, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 90)]
[Notices]
[Page 31362-31363]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr09my02-143]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
Availability of an Environmental Assessment and Receipt of an
Application for an Incidental Take Permit for Mr. and Mrs. Daniel
Sizemore, Fort Morgan Peninsula, Baldwin County, AL
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Sizemore (Applicant), seek an incidental
take permit (ITP) from the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service),
pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973
(Act), as amended. The ITP would authorize the take of the Federally
listed endangered Alabama beach mouse (Peromyscus polionotus ammobates)
(ABM), the threatened green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas), the threatened
loggerhead turtle, (Caretta caretta), and the endangered Kemp's ridley
sea turtle (Lepidochelys kempii), in Baldwin County, Alabama. The
proposed taking is incidental to construction of two single family
residences on an approximately 10,640 square-foot lot containing 106
linear feet of coastal dune habitat, fronting the Gulf of Mexico. The
Project would permanently remove about 38% of the 10,640 square-foot
lot (or approximately 4,070 square feet) that could potentially be
inhabited by the ABM and three sea turtle species in Baldwin County,
Alabama. A description of the mitigation and minimization measures
outlined in the Applicant's Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) to address
the effects of the Project to the protected species is described
further in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below. It should be
noted that this application for an incidental take permit is one of
seven applications currently being considered by the Fish and Wildlife
Service for construction of single family/or duplex residences in
coastal dune habitat fronting the Gulf of Mexico, on the Fort Morgan
Peninsula, in Baldwin County, Alabama. Other Notices relating to these
applications will appear in this issue of the Federal Register or in
subsequent issues.
The Service also announces the availability of an environmental
assessment (EA) and HCP for the incidental take application. Copies of
the EA and/or HCP may be obtained by making a request to the Regional
Office (see ADDRESSES). Requests must be in writing to be processed.
This notice also advises the public that the Service has made a
preliminary determination that issuing the ITP is not a major Federal
action significantly affecting the quality of the human environment
within the meaning of section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental
Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), as amended. The Finding of No Significant
Impact (FONSI) is based on information contained in the EA and HCP. The
final determination will be made no sooner than 30 days from the date
of this notice. This notice is provided pursuant to Section 10 of the
Act and NEPA regulations (40 CFR 1506.6).
DATES: Written comments on the permit application, EA, and HCP should
be sent to the Service's Regional Office (see ADDRESSES) and should be
received on or before June 10, 2002.
ADDRESSES: Persons wishing to review the application, HCP, and EA may
obtain a copy by writing the Service's Southeast Regional Office,
Atlanta, Georgia. Documents will also be available for public
inspection by appointment during normal business hours at the Regional
Office, 1875 Century Boulevard, Suite 200, Atlanta, Georgia 30345
(Attn: Endangered Species Permits), or Field Office, U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, 1208-B Main Street, Daphne, Alabama 36526 (Attn: Ms.
Barbara Allen). Written data or comments concerning the application,
EA, or HCP should be submitted to the Regional Office. Comments and
requests for the documentation must be in writing to be processed.
Please reference permit number TE054174-0 in such comments, or in
requests of the documents discussed herein.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. David Dell, Regional Permit
Coordinator, (see ADDRESSES above), telephone: 404/679-7313; or Ms.
Barbara Allen, Fish and Wildlife Biologist, Daphne Field Office, (see
ADDRESSES above), telephone: 334/441-5181, extension 33.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The ABM is one of eight subspecies of the
oldfield mouse restricted to coastal dunes. The Service estimates that
ABM historically occupied approximately 45 km (28 mi) of shoreline. By
1987, the total occupied linear, shoreline habitat for the ABM,
Choctawhatchee, and Perdido Key beach mice was estimated at less than
35 km (22 mi). Monitoring (trapping and field observations) of the ABM
population on other private lands that hold, or are under review for,
an ITP during the last five years indicates the Fort Morgan Peninsula
remains occupied (more or less continuously) by ABM along its primary
and secondary dunes while ABM use interior habitats intermittently. The
current occupied coastline for the ABM extends approximately 37 km (23
miles). ABM habitat on the Applicant's property consists of
approximately 10,064 square feet of wet beach, primary and secondary
dunes. There is no designated critical habitat on the property.
The green sea turtle has a circumglobal distribution and is found
in tropical and sub-tropical waters. The Florida population of this
species is federally listed as endangered; elsewhere the species is
listed as threatened. Primary nesting beaches in the southeastern
United States occur in a six-county area of east-central and
southeastern Florida, where nesting activity ranges from approximately
350-2,300 nests annually. The Service's turtle nesting surveys of the
Fort Morgan Peninsula, from Laguna Key west to Mobile Point, for the
period 1994-2001 have not confirmed any green turtle nests, though some
crawls were suspected in 1999 and 2000.
[[Page 31363]]
The loggerhead turtle is listed as a threatened species throughout
its range. This species is circumglobal, preferring temperate and
tropical waters. In the southeastern United States, 50,000 to 70,000
nests are deposited annually, about 90 percent of which occur in
Florida. Most nesting in the Gulf outside of Florida appears to be in
the Chandeleur Islands of Louisiana; Ship, Horn and Petit Bois Islands
in Mississippi; and the outer coastal sand beaches of Alabama. The
Service's nesting surveys of the Fort Morgan Peninsula, from Laguna Key
to Mobile Point, for the 2001 report included over 70 loggerhead turtle
nests.
The Kemp's ridley sea turtle is an endangered species throughout
its range. Adults are found mainly in the Gulf of Mexico. Immature
turtles can be found along the Atlantic coast as far north as
Massachusetts and Canada. The species' historic range is tropical and
temperate seas in the Atlantic Basin and in the Gulf of Mexico. Nesting
occurs primarily in Tamaulipas, Mexico, but occasionally also in Texas
and other southern states, including an occasional nest in North
Carolina. In 1999, a Kemp's ridley sea turtle nested on Bon Secour
National Wildlife Refuge and another along the Gulf Island's National
Seashore in Perdido Key, Florida. In 2001, two dead Kemp's ridley sea
turtle hatchlings were recovered, one on Bon Secour National Wildlife
Refuge, and the second in Gulf Shores, Alabama.
The EA considers the environmental consequences of three
alternatives, including a no-action alternative that would result in no
new construction on the Project site. This alternative would not be
economically feasible for the applicant. The remaining two development
alternatives involve construction of two single family residences and
driveways. The difference between the two development alternatives
relates to the amount of undisturbed habitat remaining on the property
after construction has been completed.
In the Applicant's preferred alternative, the project involves
construction of two single family residences on approximately 38
percent of the total lot. The remaining 62 percent of the habitat on
the lot would be undisturbed. Existing dune habitat located outside the
building footprint will be restored and planted with sea oats. The
Applicant plans to store sand and vegetated material removed during
excavation on the western side of the proposed residences. After
construction is completed the material will be spread over the dune
system to inoculate the area with seeds, stolons and other vegetative
material to enhance plant propagation. Approximately 300 units of sea
oats will be installed on the primary and secondary dune system.
Planting units will contain at least 3 shoots and have achieved a
height of 12-18 inches. This alternative includes measures designed to
avoid or minimize take by reducing the footprint of impervious surface
by reducing the size of the driveway and eliminating a concrete pad
under the residence. The lot outside the footprint of the driveway and
house will be undeveloped and remain in indigenous vegetation. The
mitigation plan described in the applicants' HCP includes an
enhancement component. The dunes south of the property line extend in
an east/west direction for approximately 100 feet. Sand fencing will be
placed continuously along this dune area and approximately 900 sea oat
plants installed.
In addition, a more aggressive land development alternative was
considered. Under this alternative wholesale clearing, grading, and
formal landscaping landward of the Coastal Construction Control Line
would remove nearly all of the natural habitat and indigenous
vegetation currently present on the property, with the exception of
that protected by zoning and construction setbacks.
Trapping has not been done on the lot, however, based on trapping
data on adjacent properties with similar habitat and the presence of
ABM tracks, the ABM uses portions (some on a permanent basis, others
episodically) of the entire lot. The proposed project would adversely
impact the ABM population directly by killing individuals in the
construction areas via crushing or entombment and indirectly by
introduction of house pets (cats), introduction of competitors (house
mice), attraction of predators and permanent human disturbances.
Occupation of the proposed structures could adversely affect sea turtle
nesting by disorienting nesting females and disorienting hatchlings by
excess artificial lighting, trampling nests, and trapping or
disorienting nesting females and emerging hatchlings among tire ruts or
beach equipment left after dark.
Under section 9 of the Act and its implementing regulations,
``taking'' of endangered and threatened wildlife is prohibited.
However, the Service, under limited circumstances, may issue permits to
take such wildlife if the taking is incidental to and not the purpose
of otherwise lawful activities. The Applicant has prepared an HCP as
required for the incidental take permit application, and as described
above as part of the proposed project.
As stated above, the Service has made a preliminary determination
that the issuance of the ITP is not a major Federal action
significantly affecting the quality of the human environment within the
meaning of section 102(2)(C) of NEPA. This preliminary information may
be revised due to public comment received in response to this notice
and is based on information contained in the EA and HCP.
The Service will also evaluate whether the issuance of a section
10(a)(1)(B) ITP complies with Section 7 of the Act by conducting an
intra-Service Section 7 consultation. The results of the biological
opinion, in combination with the above findings, will be used in the
final analysis to determine whether or not to issue the ITP.
Dated: April 22, 2002.
Thomas M. Riley,
Acting Regional Director.
[FR Doc. 02-11566Filed 5-8-02; 8:45 am]
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